The present invention relates to a salty water absorbing composition, a salty water ice pack, and a salty water absorbing pack, respectively, used when food containing a high water content, such as meat, fresh fish and shells, and fresh vegetables and the like are stored, kept or preserved, and transported. The salty water absorbing composition is adapted to absorb the exudation or drippings discharged from such food as described above, in particular, the exudation discharged from fresh fish and shells with salt contained therein. The salty water ice pack has the effect of controlling the reproduction of bacteria as a result of using ceramics provided with fresh preserving properties and antibiotic characteristics. The salty water absorbing pack is made by soaking salty water in the pack and freezing the soaked pack.
When food containing a high water content, such as meat, fresh fish and shells, and fresh vegetables and the like is stored, kept and displayed in a shop window, exudation or drippings are discharged from the food. Drippings are collected on the bottom of containers and trays, so that appearance of the food in such container is made dirty or soiled, the food is likely to discolor, or generate an unpleasant odor, and preservability is lowered.
As a result of the above problems, the drippings must be removed from the food. When drippings are removed or discarded by exchanging the container or trays for such food, this removing operation is troublesome and the cost of preparing the food is increased. In order to solve the problems of the prior art, sheets of paper and sheets of non-woven cloth to absorb the drippings, for example, are placed or laid on the bottoms of containers and trays so as to absorb the drippings and the soaked sheet thereafter removed. However, it is not sufficient to completely absorb the drippings. As a result, nowadays water absorbing sheets made by packing water absorbing resin by paper or non-woven cloth has come into use.
The conventional water absorbing sheets can only sufficiently soak fresh water-containing drippings, but they cannot effectively absorb salty water containing drippings. This means it has not been possible to preserve fresh fish, shells and the like and to prevent the discoloration thereof.
In addition, in the case where food such as meat, fresh fish and shells, and fresh vegetables are transported over long distances, in general refrigerators and freezing or cold-chain trucks, or ice and dry ice are used. It is apparent that there are restrictions on the volume of food to be transported as well as the transport time. It is said that the transportation of food, such as fresh fish and shells, in a fresh condition over more than a predetermined distance is difficult.